


Damn That Cat

by My_Black_Crimson_Rose6



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Cute, Embarrassment, Lack of Communication, M/M, Multi, No cats were harmed in the making of this story, Polyamory, Tumblr Prompt, Wash with Cats, Working Relationships - Freeform, hot neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-10 22:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4410770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Black_Crimson_Rose6/pseuds/My_Black_Crimson_Rose6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wash has a cat that likes to explore, has a knack of destroying furniture and the neighbours left their window open. Its only the only sensible thing Wash could do...<br/>...so he climbs through the window after his cat and the neighbour walks in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Damn That Cat

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: my stupid cat sneaked out on the balcony and into your open window and he has this habit of destroying furniture so i followed him inside and you came home earlier than i expected and found me in the middle of your living room but i swear i’m not a burglar!
> 
> I forgot about this in my folder and just found it again today. Woooo~~

Wash was really starting to hate this apartment building and this damn cat. He had rescued the little Russian Blue from a shelter four months ago and the damn slippery thing kept sneaking through the door. But now that the heat was rising and it was still not hot enough to kick in the AC, Wash opened the windows…

That’s how the cat kept getting out.

Now the road to freedom was a window on the fourth story of his little downtown apartment building with the emergency railing/staircase just outside the open window. The blond followed the little cat; through the open window and up the fire escape with a hiss of the cat’s name on his tongue as he called to it. “Get back here Tims,” he made a lunge for the wiry little cat just as it snuck into the window of the apartment right above Wash’s.

Washington never really _met_ his upstairs neighbours. He knew that three men lived together in a two bedroom apartment and from the people that Wash had talked to on the fifth floor; the three men were known for some pretty loud arguments and parties. Wash had only had to call about a noise complaint once in his five months of living in this apartment—Wash had been working nights for the first two months and after his... _accident_ (and in extension, his timely exit from the force) Washington had been free to come and go at any hour he pleased.

“Tims get back here,” Washington tried again, poking his head into the open window and snapping his fingers in an effort to get the cats attention. It didn’t work.

Wash quickly weighed the cons of jumping through this person’s window—the cops could be called, and his former co-workers would have to press charges. _Shit_ , Wash watched as Tims leaped up onto the back of the leather couch and stretch—claws poised and ready to dig into the furniture.

Fuck it, Wash was grabbing his cat!

The blond _fell_ into the apartment through the window just as the front door was opening and a dark skinned man was entering, hands filled with grocery bags. The man froze staring at Washington as he pulled himself up off the floor and dove for the cat getting ready to scratch up the back off his couch. “I swear to every holy figure in existence that I will _bathe_ you tonight, so fucking help me.” The blond turned back towards the window without noticing the owner of the apartment.

The man pushed the door open further and checked the number—yes this was in fact his apartment and yes that was a man making his way back towards the window that he just crawled through with a cat tucked under his arm. The man cleared his throat and watched as Washington jolted, chucking the cat onto the emergency stairwell and slamming the window closed before turning to face him.

“I...” the blond’s brows furrowed, “I just threw my cat out the window. Why did I just throw my cat out the window?” he threw the window open and picked the small stunned Russian Blue cat up again before crawling through the window. “I’m so so sorry! I swear I just needed to grab my cat, he snuck in. Ask anyone, I live right beneath you—David Washington.”

The man threw the owner of the apartment his grimace and quickly squirreled his way back downstairs—all before Locus could utter a single word.

-

“Have you met the downstairs neighbour?” Locus inquires later that night when both of his partners have returned home.

Shane drags a towel over his wet hair, a pair of loose basketball shorts hanging off his hips as he makes his way into the kitchen to see just what he taller lover was cooking that night. When Locus cooks they can guarantee that it’s going to be good. “The blond guy? Yeah, he’s hot.”

Felix waved the fork he had in his hand towards Shane, “wait—wait wait wait wait. You’re telling me there’s a hot blond that I haven’t been introduced to?” The man tsked and skewered a pepper onto his fork from the pan. “What’s his name, where does he live and what happened to draw your attention?”

\--

Wash made a dive for the cat right before it could make a leap through the window and into the apartment, unfortunately though, the momentum continued Washington forwards until he had nearly fallen into his upstairs neighbour’s apartment—again.

Every so often Wash has a moment where he has to gauge the situations in which he finds himself in—has to think what it would look to someone that _wasn’t him_ , someone that _didn’t know_ the pre-established situations leading up to this event in his life. Here he was, stuck and trying to pull himself back up through the window with a wiggling, meowing cat in his hand while a man in a towel stood about a good... two to three feet away from him.

Wash sighed, “I should explain. I swear it’s the cat, I’m _really really_ not here to steal anything.” He couldn’t help but spare a glance up at the man’s face, at least it wasn’t the one he ‘met’ earlier that week, but then again this one was dripping wet _and_ naked under the towel. His cheeks coloured, heating as he dropped his gaze to the wooden floors and begun him struggling anew.

The man sighed, pulling Wash out of the window and steadying him on his feet and in his wet embrace. “Locus told me about the cat thing and the neighbours sing praise about you—even the cranky hag down in 1L—”

“Madam Begonia is a lovely lady she’s just a little sensitive after the death of her daughter-in-law, they were very close friends.”

The man smiled, “—and that’s why I’m believing you when you say that you’re here to grab,” his brown eyes glanced down at the furry creature between them at the fur ball mewed.

“Tims, his name is Tims,” Wash swallowed the access saliva he had gathering, building up on his tongue. _Shit_ , why were they hot? And _why_ was their apartment layout one with two bedrooms, which one was the single one? Which one was Wash _allowed_ to flirt with?!

The man grinned, “Well I’m Shane.” Washington was _done_ ; how the grin pulled at his face, how his hair fell around his face, how his eyes were a spectacular shade of brown— _please be the single one_. “So _David_ —”

“Wash—I’m, I prefer Wash more. Only really use David in bed.” He pinched his eyes shut, cursing his mouth—his brain and the fact that _how was that a proper answer_?! How!?

Shane chuckled, “so _David_ , how about you put Tims back downstairs, I’ll put something on and we can have a chat? Get to know each other seeing that you’re crawling through my window and all. You’re more than welcome to use the front door this time though.”

\--

When Shane means clothes he means just putting on a pair of pants and _that’s it_.

They don’t really do much talking after the first hour, though Shane’s lap is _very_ comfortable—and his hands wonder.

\--

He has his pillow tucked under his chin as he types up and fires off another text to his neighbour upstairs. They had just come back from their first date that night, parting ways after too long spent pressed against Wash’s door. He had... suggested... that they move it inside, possibly shed a thing or two. Shane had chuckled against his lips, asking for a reign check but he was _very much_ interested in the offer.

Shane had texted him an hour after parting ways saying that he could taste Wash still—that both Locus and Felix (Wash assumed this was the couple he was living with) haven’t stopped bothering him, asking for details, poking fun at his smile. Wash didn’t believe him until he sent a bunch of pictures of Felix pinching his cheek and just getting all up in his business.

Wash ducked his face back into the pillow when his phone lit up again and another sappy message greeted him. He fired one back, saying that the window with the fire escape was open if he’d wish to come kiss him goodnight—maybe stay and kiss him good morning as well.

He set the phone back on the mattress, reaching round to scratch Tims head as he took up his favourite sleeping space—the small of Wash’s back. “Thanks Tims, you’re the best,” he whispered tucking his face back into the pillow as he continued to grin—to beam and sigh like a lovestuck fool. A minute ticked by and then another; did he fall asleep? Is he actually coming down? His heart lurched up in his throat when his phone went off again.

_"okay, I need to tell you something and I feel horrible for not straight up telling you earlier."_

His breath caught, sitting up and ignoring the thump of Tims jumping off the bed as he cradled his phone in his hands. The giddy feeling from before twisting into something cold in his stomach as he read the next grouping of texts coming pouring in.

_"So Felix and Locus aren't just my roommates"_

_"They both kinda have a thing for you too and are kinda reading most of these texts cause they think your... "adorable" "sexy" "unf" and whatever the fuck else theyre trying to say"_

It didn’t make him feel any better, didn’t stop his throat from tightening and for the... _disappointment_ to settle over him. Was the feelings something only Wash was interested in, was Wash making up the gentle caress he felt when Shane brushed his knuckles against his cheek—was he making up the longing, passionate glances he caught in the laundry room when Shane kept him company while he had to do his laundry last week?

_"I feel shitty not telling you before now and I'm sorry if you--"_

Wash doesn’t bother reading anymore before turning his phone on silent, setting it onto his nightstand and curling back into his pillow. He feels... cheated as he tries to will himself to a sleep that won’t come. He thinks back to his other relationships—he had been in relationships with more than one person at the same time, but everyone _knew_ what they were getting into before falling into it.

He pushed the covers off and padded out into his living room. He stars at the window and shakes his head, flicking the lock and grabbing the book he had started reading a few days ago. Maybe that would help push him into a sleep.

\--

It’s been thirty minutes and Wash hadn’t replied; Shane hissed tossing the phone at Locus who held his hand out to see the mess of the conversation he made it out into. “I fucked up,” he groaned pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes until he saw stars, “ _Fuck_.”

“You could’ve _not_ brought it up during this conversation,” Locus scrolled through the conversation, reading through the teeth rotting sweetness assaulting his retinas. “Also should’ve brought it up _before_ the date—or before that,” he added, passing it to Felix who just walked in the room again.

“Ooooh,” Felix whistled low as he read, and re-read the messages he’s already seen. “Yeah that bomb could’ve waited when he _wasn’t_ inviting you down to spend the night with him—or again, _we_ could’ve just come with you. But again, the whole thing of ‘ _there’s a time and place for these conversations’_ and from a guy who’s been told that I run my mouth—which I don’t believe in the _slightest_ —I gotta say that _this_ ,” he waggled the phone, “was not the time for it.”

\--

Felix spots him three days later sitting out on the fire escape with a cat that _isn’t_ a Russian Blue sitting beside. He’s not much of a cat guy but that cat was huge and fluffy as _fuck_ —he doesn’t think that’s a Russian Blue. He isn’t being sneaky, never thought to try as he pushes himself out of his window and walks down the stairs and takes a seat beside the blond glaring at the worn and weather brick opposite of them.

“Hey Felix,” he greets, setting him a small smirk as Felix settles in.

“Hey David,” he replies, smiling as gently as possible—it’s a twitch of the lips and even _that_ hurt to try to hold, even when the tips of Wash’s ears coloured. “Lo and I won’t make excuses for him, this isn’t—”

Wash sighs holding his hand up to get him to pause, “I’m not... whatever it is that you guys think I am—other than maybe a little disappointed? I’ve been with multiple romantic partners at the same time, I’m not against getting into a relationship like that again I just wanted to _know_ what I was signing up for before jumping in like the idiot that I am, y’know?” The large fluffy feline that Felix noticed brushed against his side. “I get attached too easily and I get fucked over by it,” Wash tilts his head to finally look at the man.

Felix’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, “I don’t get how you can be so _fucking_ attractive—what’s your secret?” Wash’s jaw slackened and that’s all Felix needs to slip his tongue in and steal a kiss. Felix laughs into it when Wash punches his shoulder though continues to kiss him. They pull away; Wash rolling his eyes and Felix mirroring the pride one of Wash cats must feel when they catch a bird.

“But,” Felix grows serious, smile falling away. “You should have dinner with us sometime—tonight Locus is cooking, he’s by far the best out of the three of us so I personally recommend that stop by maybe just for a bite to eat. Nothing big, see about hanging out without cats crashing the party.”

He stares down at his hands, the ring around the middle finger on his right hand. “I’ll see about that,” Wash throws the man a smile as he stands, giving the blond his space to think—to muse it all over now that he’s got his kiss. He was a good sport about it all; Felix was honestly expecting to get punched off the fire escape for it.

“We eat around 7,” he slips up the stairs with ease, “take care Wash.” He catches the blond repeating the words back to his as he slips back into his apartment.

\--

Wash accepts the offer of dinner that night, arriving shortly after seven in a pair of jeans and his favourite sweater—his jaw brushed with a faint growth of stubble after not shaving for two and a half days (he was one of the ‘lucky’ ones that didn’t have to shave almost every hour just to keep the hair away). Felix opened the door, pulling him by the collar of his sweater before slamming the door behind him.

Shane was surprised to see him, awkward until Wash pressed a kiss to his cheek and said they’d properly discuss things after dinner.

Locus was just happy to see him in the apartment again without Wash chucking another cat out the window. He was the one that kept asking the questions about Wash’s life—what did he do for a living? Wash was a vet tec working on his doctorate, the hours he spent at the animal hospital was being clocked and he was being paid for. How many cats does he have? He has four; Tims the Russian Blue, Meta the Maine Coon, Erna the Bengal, and Rose the American Shorthair. Where did he grow up? Seattle. Any siblings? He had three older brother and an older sister.

The interest in his life had his checks colouring, heart pounding quickly in his chest—it didn’t help that Felix was dragging his foot up the inside of his leg.

It was a... pleasant enough evening to warrant the kisses he gave them as he left that evening with his phone already buzzing as soon as he left the apartment.

He wasn’t about to let Shane off the hook for not telling him, wasn’t about to pretend that it was fine and dandy—he’d go into it slowly now. Slower than what he did with Shane—work through that part too while getting more of the other two.

Though... he does tell them that the window to the fire escape is unlocked, taping a sign that says ‘ **You’re not getting lucky though** ’ to it if they decide to visit.


End file.
